WINNIPEG (0-0) at SASKATCHEWAN (0 - 1) - 7/1/2017, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WINNIPEG is 1-10 ATS (-10.0 Units) as a road favorite of 3 points or less since 1996.
SASKATCHEWAN is 128-93 ATS (+25.7 Units) as an underdog since 1996.
SASKATCHEWAN is 18-4 ATS (+13.6 Units) as a home underdog of 3 points or less since 1996.
SASKATCHEWAN is 52-33 ATS (+15.7 Units) in July games since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
SASKATCHEWAN is 3-2 against the spread versus WINNIPEG over the last 3 seasons
WINNIPEG is 4-1 straight up against SASKATCHEWAN over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

Winnipeg (0-0) @ Saskatchewan (0-1)— Blue Bombers had bye last week; they’ve won four of last five games with Saskatchewan, winning two of last three visits to Regina. Over is 5-2 in last seven series games- over was 7-1 in last eight Bomber games LY. Roughriders lost by point in Montreal last week when Alouettes kicked FG with 2:45 to play; Riders managed only two FGs in second half, after leading 10-7 at halftime.

-------------------------

Saturday, July 1

9:00 PM
WINNIPEG vs. SASKATCHEWAN
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Winnipeg's last 8 games
Winnipeg is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Winnipeg
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Saskatchewan's last 5 games

The BC Lions won 28-15 as 1.5-point pups on Friday night and underdogs are now perfect 7-0 ATS in the first seven CFL games this season and are a crazy 29-6-2 ATS during Weeks 1-4 since 2015.

You probably haven’t noticed, but the 2017 Canadian Football League season has kicked off, but with it being Canada’s 150th birthday this Saturday it’s an appropriate time to take notice of a trend that seems to pop up every year north of the border.

Underdogs once again are off to a red hot start in the CFL. Week 2 has is under way and pups are currently a perfect 7-0 against the spread so far this season.

That makes it the third consecutive year that underdogs went a perfect 4-0 ATS in the first week of the CFL season, but don't worry eager football bettors, the dogs don’t start barking there.

In 2015, underdogs started the year a perfect 8-0 ATS and were 11-2-1 ATS (84.6 percent) through the season’s first four weeks. While last season, teams getting the points went 11-4-1 ATS between Weeks 1 and 4.

That means over the past two-plus years, underdogs are an unfathomable 29-6-2 ATS in the first four weeks of the season. That equates to an 82.9 percent cash rate. Whoa.

The trend seems to suggest that sportsbooks, just like you and me, maybe don't pay the most attention to the CFL during the early part of the season. Plus, with so much roster turnover year-to-year the teams can be hard to gauge. Heck, a team under .500 won the Grey Cup last year. So the time to act is now.

Two more underdogs cashed on the gridiron Friday night with the BC Lions winning 28-15 SU versus the Toronto Argonauts as 1.5-point road dogs and the Montreal Alouettes covered as 9-point road pups in their 23-19 loss against the Edmonton Eskimos.

Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

Canada celebrates its 150th birthday on July 1 and we are paying homage to its Canadian roots with bets on the CFL, Blue Jays, MLS, and other Canuck clubs.

This July 1 is a biggie for those of us north of the border. Canada celebrates its 150th birthday, which isn’t very old when you size it up against some other countries. Just think, it took the Cubs 108 years to win a World Series. The “True North” was just 41 years old when that drought started.

Many people don’t know but Covers is Canadian, eh. That’s right. While we have roots in Nevada and a network that spans the entire sports betting globe, we’re headquartered in tranquil Atlantic Canada. And for all the glitz and glam of the Vegas Strip or the betting-friendly culture overseas, we wouldn’t change a thing. We love it here. We love Canada.

So, it is with great national pride that we share the most Canadian bets you can make during the Canada Day Weekend. Bet them. Fade them. Do whatever you like. As long as you have fun… and some cold beer in the fridge.

CFL

It doesn’t get any more Canadian than three-down football. The CFL will be at the tail end of Week 2 on July 1, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visiting the Saskatchewan Roughriders as 1-point road favorites.

Underdogs have been the hot play in the early workings of the CFL the past two seasons and that trend is holding steady again in 2017. Playing into that pattern is the fact that the Riders are 5-2 ATS in their last seven home stands against the Bombers and have gone 30-13 ATS in their last 43 games as home underdogs. If you know any Riders fans, you know why Saskatchewan is cash money when getting points in front of the Regina faithful.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Jays are at home to the hated Red Sox for a Canada Day matinee, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:07 p.m. ET Saturday. Given the weather, I’ll either be mowing the lawn and listening the game on the radio or hunkered inside away from the rain watching it on TV. Either way, booze is involved.

Toronto was on a bit of a July 1 run last year, having won three straight Canada Day games while outscoring opponents 23-6 in those holiday matchups. Then they ran into a red-hot Cleveland squad last summer, and dropped a 2-1 decision in a 19-inning marathon in front of the T.O. faithful.

The Blue Jays are struggling with four wins in their last 10 outings, including losing two of three games with the Orioles this week. Toronto sends lefty Francisco Liriano to the mound Saturday, while the BoSox trot out strikeout machine Chris Sale. You really know how to spoil the celebration, don't you Boston?

Liriano has been great at home, with the team winning each of his last five starts at the Rogers Centre, where he boasts a 4.06 ERA – a massive improvement over his road ERA which is north of 7.00. If you’ve just GOT TO bet the Blue Jays on Canada Day, at least you’ll be getting an OK price on them with Sale drawing major juice.

MLS

All three Canadian Major League Soccer franchises are in action Saturday, but only Montreal is at home. The Impact host D.C. United as -140 favorites in the three-way betting at SportsInteraction.com, while Toronto FC is +237 at FC Dallas, and Vancouver is +377 visiting Chicago.

Toronto is at the top of the Eastern Conference with a record of 10-2-5, fueled by last year’s heartbreaking loss on penalty kicks to Seattle in the MLS Championship. It has, however, struggled with Dallas FC in the past. Toronto picked up a 1-0 win over Dallas last May – its lone victory over Dallas FC going back to 2009. In that 10-game span, Toronto FC is just 1-6-3 versus Dallas and 0-3-3 inside Toyota Stadium. The +249 on the draw for Saturday looks mighty tempting.

Wimbledon

Time for a little Canadian history on the July 1 holiday. In 1867, Canada’s confederation birthed a new country and independence from Britain (kind of… the Queen is still on our money) but there are plenty of ties to the old country. We still call a couch a “chesterfield” and dinner is often referred to as “supper”.

With Wimbledon serving up tennis action at the All England Club for a fortnight, the best Canadian bet on the British grass is Milos Raonic, who is priced at +1,600 to win the third Grand Slam of the season. Raonic, who has already garnered some notable action at sportsbooks, lost in the 2016 Wimbledon final to Andy Murray in straights sets.

On the women’s side, Canadian cover girl Eugenie Bouchard, known more for her bikini pics on Instagram than her success on the court, is set as a +6,600 long shot to win Wimbledon. Bouchard, who is terribly inconsistent and has been plagued by injuries, was a Wimbledon finalist in 2014. She lost to Petra Kvitová 6-3, 6-0 and then bowed out in the first and third rounds the next two years respectively.

NHL futures

Gawd, the NHL playoffs were fun. And that good time has rolled right into the offseason, thanks to the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft and a flurry of trades and signings that will only continue throughout the summer.

For Canadian hockey fans, the hopes of bringing the Stanley Cup back over the border – for the first time since Montreal won in 1993 – rests on the shoulders of the young Edmonton Oilers, who are currently the second overall favorite at +1,000 to hoist Lord Stanley at SportsInteraction.com (behind Pittsburgh at +700).

Edmonton has the league’s top talent in Connor McDavid and was one of the most balanced teams in the NHL, ranked eighth in both goals for and goals against. The Oilers have been a very popular futures bet already into the offseason, and aren’t alone among Canadian teams drawing futures money.

Surprisingly, the Toronto Maple Leafs have taken some notable action in Las Vegas, and are around +1,600 to win the Cup for the first time since 1967. If you thought the 150th Canada Day celebrations were impressive, they wouldn’t hold a candle to the party the country would throw if the Leafs won the Cup.

NBA futures

Toronto stands alone as Canada’s NBA franchise, ever since the Vancouver Grizzlies took off for Memphis back in 2001. The Grizz drafting "Big Country" as the face of the franchise is still one of the biggest black eyes for Canadian sports, right up there with trading Wayne Gretzky to L.A. and Ben Johnson's bullshit at the 1988 Olympic Games. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! (To Vancouver's defense, the back end of that 1995 draft class was straight-up rotten and Bryant Reeves wasn't all that bad: 12.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg).

But I digress. The Raptors are in a tough spot. They’re one of the Top 5 teams in the Eastern Conference, and don’t really have a chance to win the East until LeBron calls it quits or jumps to the West. They’re too good to nab a top lottery pick and Canadian tax laws and cold winter nights have kept big-time free agents from knocking on the door. The franchise may have hit its ceiling - and not in that good but confusing Michael Jordan kind of way.

Toronto is currently +12,500 to win the NBA title – behind teams like New Orleans, Milwaukee, and even the damn Lakers and Sixers have better odds at this point – and is set at +3,000 to at least win the East. The Raptors have to make a decision on Kyle Lowry, who’s a free agent this summer, and beyond him the realistic free agent pool is about as sexy as late, great Canadian comedian John Candy in booty shorts.

If you want to make a Canadian-inspired futures bet this July 1, why not take a swing on our greatest basketball product since Steve Nash: Andrew Wiggins and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The T-Wolves were +20,000 to win the NBA title before trading for superstar guard Jimmy Butler during the draft. Adding his scoring prowess alongside Wiggins and Carl-Anthony Towns has trimmed Minny to as low as +5,000 at some books. Whoa Canada!

Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

Winnipeg re-signed Matt Nichols to a new multi-year deal after the veteran quarterback threw for a career-high 3,666 yards and 18 touchdowns after taking over from Drew Willy as the starting quarterback in Week 6 last season.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Saskatchewan Roughriders (+1, 50)

The Saskatchewan Roughriders look to bounce back from a deflating Week 1 loss when they host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday. Saskatchewan was doomed by penalties, turnovers and a missed field goal by Tyler Crapigna as time expired in the 17-16 setback to the Montreal Alouettes, and hopes to cut down on its mistakes to avoid its second 0-2 start in as many years.

"We just have to play smarter," Roughriders coach Chris Jones told reporters. "We took 21 penalties and had three turnovers and it's tough to beat a high school team when you do these things." Winnipeg, which had a Week 1 bye, looks to ride the wave of momentum created by their first playoff appearance in five years. The Blue Bombers won 11 games for the first time since 2003 and there's a sense of optimism floating around Investors Group Field following the addition of defensive end Tristan Okpalaugo, who was named the East Division's Top Rookie in 2014, and the new deals signed by starting quarterback Matt Nichols, wide receiver Clarence Denmark and kicker Justin Medlock. Winnipeg has won the last three meetings with Saskatchewan, including both games in 2016, and hopes to spoil the Canada Day party in Regina.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, TSN, ESPN2
LINE HISTORY: The road Blue Bombers opened as 1-point favorites and the line has yet to move off the opening number. The total hit the betting board at 51.5, quickly was bet up to 52.5 and was driven down to 48, before rebounding up to 50.5.
ABOUT THE BLUE BOMBERS (2016: 11-8 SU, 11-8 ATS, 11-6-1 O/U): Winnipeg re-signed Matt Nichols to a new multi-year deal after the veteran quarterback threw for a career-high 3,666 yards and 18 touchdowns after taking over from Drew Willy as the starting quarterback in Week 6 last season. Running back Andrew Harris had a huge year with his hometown team as he rushed for 974 yards to go along with 631 receiving yards, and wide receiver Weston Dressler caught 80 passes for 1,003 yards despite missing four games through injury, and big things are expected of the duo in 2017. Medlock was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams Player after setting a league record for most field goals in a season with 60.
ABOUT THE ROUGHRIDERS (0-1 SU, 1-0 ATS, 0-1 O/U): Saskatchewan will play its inaugural CFL game at the 33,000-seat new Mosaic Stadium after spending the previous 80 years at Taylor Field. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open a state of the art stadium in front of our fans," Saskatchewan president Craig Reynolds told reporters. "It's a tie-in with Canada 150 and it's just going to be an absolutely amazing day." Ricky Collins Jr. will be sidelined for a month after suffering a shoulder injury against Montreal and Nic Demski will handle the kickoff return duties while wide receiver Rob Bagg, who missed the season opener, is likely to suit up Saturday.

TRENDS DATING BACK TO 2016:

* Blue Bombers are 1-6-1 ATS in their last 8 games as a road favorite.

* Roughriders are 19-4 ATS in their last 23 games as a home underdog of 0.5-3.0.

* Over is 7-0 in Blue Bombers last 7 road games.

* Over is 7-1 in Blue Bombers last 8 games overall.

* Over is 6-0 in the last 6 meetings in Saskatchewan.
CONSENSUS: The road chalk Bombers are getting 55 percent of the action from users and the OVER is getting 54 percent of the totals wagers.

EXTRA POINTS:

1. The Blue Bombers have won four of the past five meetings with the Roughriders.

2. Saskatchewan is 2-18 against fellow West Division foes since the start of 2015.

3. Nichols was 10-3 as the starting quarterback in 2016.

Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

REGINA – Justin Medlock kicked the game-winning field goal in the second overtime as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the rival Saskatchewan Roughriders in the first ever regular season game at the new Mosaic Stadium.

Winnipeg opened the first overtime with a 36-yard field goal by Medlock. Tristan Okpalaugo sacked Kevin Glenn on second down but Tyler Crapigna kicked a 30-yard field goal of his own to send the game to a second overtime.

Passes to Nic Demski and Rob Bagg gave the Riders a first down. Glenn was again tackled on second down and Crapigna hit the goalpost on a 33 yard attempt, giving Winnipeg a chance to clinch the victory. The Bombers took advantage with Andrew Harris rushing for a first down before Medlock secured the 43-40 win.

Matt Nichols threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns plus an interception while Glenn recorded 377 passing yards, four touchdowns and two picks. Weston Dressler burned his former team for 124 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

The game was a thrilling way for the Riders to open up their new home against the rival Bombers on Canada Day.

Both teams traded defensive stops to open the game. Glenn used a series of short passes to push the Riders downfield, getting the team close enough for Tyler Crapigna to connect on a 48-yard field goal to grab the early 3-0 lead.

The Riders and Bombers continued to battle defensively until Saskatchewan tipped a Nichols pass attempt which was corralled in by Jonathan Newsome at midfield for an interception. From there, Duron Carter hauled in a 36-yard pass in double coverage before Caleb Holley notched an 18-yard touchdown reception on the next play as the Riders went up 10-0.

The Riders defence continued to carry the momentum as the first quarter came to a close with Eddie Steele sacking Nichols. Looking downfield for another big play, Glenn was intercepted by TJ Heath, who returned the ball 33 yards and past midfield. Medlock booted a 30-yard field goal to put some points on the board for the Bombers.

A punt pinned the Bombers deep in their own zone and they could not move the chains, giving the Riders great field position to start their next drive. Passes to Demski and Spencer Moore led to a Bakari Grant touchdown as the Riders upped their lead to 17-3.

It didn’t take long for the Bombers to respond with a touchdown of their own. Nichols and Darvin Adams marched Winnipeg downfield on a pair of passes before the duo turned a 31-yard gain into an endzone reception, cutting the deficit to 17-10 just before halftime. With 33 seconds left before the whistle, Sam Hurl cut into a passing lane and picked off Glenn, giving the Bombers one more scoring chance. A 33-yard gain by Denmark put Winnipeg in the red zone but the Bombers had to settle for a field goal and went into the locker room trailing 17-13.

The Bombers found the endzone on their first drive of the second half. On the second play of the possession, Nichols connected on an 87-yard strike to Dressler and gave Winnipeg its first lead of the game at 20-17.

On the ensuing kickoff, Greg Morris fumbled the football and it was recovered by Brandon Alexander, instantly putting the Bombers in the red zone. Nichols found Dressler for another touchdown as the Bombers lead quickly grew to 27-17. That capped off two touchdowns in 25 seconds for Winnipeg.

Looking to stop the Bombers momentum, Morris worked a strong return to give the ball back to the offence. The Riders pushed downfield and Crapigna notched his second field goal of the game.

Dressler continued to be a thorn to the Riders defence, working a 22-yard gain before Nichols spread the ball around. L’Damian Washington brought in a 35-yard touchdown grab as the Bombers offence clicked again and added to the Bombers lead, 34-20.

Holley started the next drive with a 31-yard gain and Grant added another first down to keep the Riders offence moving. Crapigna kicked another field goal as the Riders chipped away at the score.

Working the clock as the fourth quarter began, the Bombers used a series of runs by Andrew Harris to take away extra seconds. It was enough for Medlock to add another three points from a field goal and increased the Winnipeg lead to 37-23.

Saskatchewan responded on its next drive, keeping themselves in the game with a 35-yard touchdown grab by Demski with 9:31 remaining to cut the lead to 37-30.

First downs by Demski and Carter put the Riders into scoring territory, looking to score a major with under two minutes left in the game. Naaman Roosevelt tied the game on Glenn’s fourth touchdown pass.

Lankford put the Bombers near midfield with his kick return but Nichols lost nine yards on a sack by Zach Minter. An unnecessary roughness penalty on the next play forced the Bombers to punt as the Riders regained possession with a shade under a minute left. Saskatchewan failed to convert as they punted to the Bombers with 49 seconds remaining in the contest. The Riders held strong, forcing the game to overtime.

Next week, the Bombers host the Calgary Stampeders while the Riders welcome the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to their new stadium.

Last edited by StarDust Bum; 07-02-2017 at 12:58 AM.

Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

— Singer Bruce Hornsby’s son Keith is on the Dallas Mavericks’ summer league team; he played college ball at LSU.

— Over last six years, Iona and Cal-Northridge have had 16 players transfer into their basketball programs, most in the country.

— North Carolina is only D-I basketball program in the country that hasn’t had a player transfer out in the last six years.

— There were 1,101 home runs hit in the major leagues in June, the most ever in one month, passing May of 2000, when 1,069 taters were hit.

******************************

Sunday’s List of 13: Random thoughts on a summer day……

13) I spent a few days in Boston in August, 2003, saw the A’s play twice at Fenway Park.

One of the things I remember most about the trip is that after the game the first night, the newspaper the next day had 8 PAGES OF RED SOX COVERAGE after a Tuesday night game in August, and this was the year before they won their first World Series in 86 years.

My point is this: If David Price has a thin skin with media coverage, he is in exactly the wrong city. Price is making $30M+ for the next six years, and with that comes scrutiny and praise and if things don’t go well, criticism.

Take some of that $30M and buy some Bose headphones, to drown out the noise.

12) Red Sox manager John Farrell was in Kansas City Saturday to see his son Luke make his major league debut on the mound for the Royals; he got KO’d by the Twins in the 3rd inning. While that was going on, the Red Sox won 5-0 in Toronto without their manager.

I was surprised after reading that Farrell got the day off to go to Kansas City for the day, with the Red Sox in the pennant race and all.

11) Quote/Tweet of the Day, part 2:
“I strongly suggest that a young baseball pitcher NOT throw a curveball until they are 14 or 15 yrs old to protect your growth plate.”
Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, owner of one of the best curveballs ever

10) Jose Abreu’s first 13 home runs this year came on the road, but he homered at home the last two days. When the weather heats up, so does Abreu’s bat- he should be play for Arizona or Miami, where it is always hot.

9) Chicago Bears were -20 in turnovers last year, are 14-34 the last three years, and now have all-new QB’s this season. No pressure on John Fox……..think of the Rams last year. Jeff Fisher on a hot seat with a similar QB situation; it didn’t end well.

8) Braves’ 3B coach Ron Washington is a great infield instructor and from all accounts, also a terrific guy- he worked for the A’s for a long time. Three hours before the Braves-A’s game Saturday, he was hitting grounders in foul territory down the first base line to a teenager, the son of A’s groundskeeper Clay Wood, helping him get better. Cool thing to see.

7) It still boggles my mind that Steph Curry will now make $40M a year , though Zack Greinke makes $34.4M and he will only pitch 32 games at most this year.

6) They drew 14,014 fans at a minor league game in Sacramento Friday night to see Madison Bumgarner throw in a rehab start. Bumgarner threw 3.2 innings.

5) NBA doings:
— Minnesota signed PG Jeff Teague for three years, $57M
— Golden State gave Shaun Livingston $24M for three years; he started a total of eight games the last three years, played 17.7 mpg LY.
— Clippers re-signed Blake Griffin for five years, $173M. Griffin missed 80 games the last three seasons, when the Clippers were 12-15 in playoff games.
— Jrue Holiday gets five years, $126M to stay in New Orleans.
— JJ Redick gets $23M for one year from the 76ers. JJ Redick. $23M. Oy.

4) Quote of the Day, part 3, from an NBA scout:
“When you’re watching a game live, you aren’t necessarily looking at the game. You’re looking at how the player warms up, how he reacts when the team is losing, how he reacts to the coach yelling at him, how he interacts with his teammates, whether he has confrontations with the referee or fans, how he acts during timeouts, how he handles being benched. There are so many things that you’re watching for that have nothing to do with the player’s skills.”

3) If you’re an NBA fan, the Orlando summer league is on NBA TV the next few days, then the Las Vegas summer league kicks off Friday, with 24 teams in it.

2) I write this once a year and it remains true; every high school/college basketball player should watch the NBA summer leagues, if only for a little while, so they can see firsthand how difficult it is to make it to the NBA and then make a roster for good.

Watch for a little while, then go find a gym and work on your game. A lot.

1) July 1 was Canada Day and it is also Bobby Bonilla-gets-paid Day; every July 1 from now until 2035, Bonilla will get $1.19M from the Mets.

Mets released Bonilla in January 2000 even though they still owed him $5.9 million in salary. Rather than accept the $5.9 million up front, Bonilla agreed to defer the money in exchange for 8% interest- the first payment came in 2011, by which time the $5.9M had grown to $29.8M.

Owner of the Mets, by the way, is the head of baseball’s Finance Committee.

Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

The second week of action in the CFL got underway last Thursday with Calgary’s wild 43-39 victory against Ottawa as an eight-point home favorite in the backend of this home-and-home series.

British Columbia came out on the winning end of a 28-15 victory over Toronto as a + 1 ˝-point road underdog on Friday night and Edmonton capped off that night’s games with a 23-19 win against Montreal, but it could not cover as a heavy nine-point favorite at home.

Week 2 closed things out on Saturday with Winnipeg posting a 43-40 victory in overtime against Saskatchewan as a 1 ˝-point road underdog and through the first eight games of the new CFL season the underdog has now covered against the spread in every contest.

After splitting their first two games both straight-up and ATS, the one thing we have learned from the Lions is they are going to take a balanced approach to moving the ball down the field behind quarterback Jonathon Jennings and running back Jeremiah Johnson. Jennings has thrown for 565 yards and Johnson leads all CFL rushers with 162 yards on 23 carries for an average of seven yards an attempt.

Montreal had the early lead against Edmonton last week after putting the first 10 points on the board, but it was outscored 17-6 in the second half. Darian Durant only threw for 166 yards in that game, but the Alouettes got a solid effort from Tyrell Sutton on the ground with 88 rushing yards on 12 carries. This team is still going to live and die with a defense that has allowed the fewest average points through the first two weeks.
Betting Trends

-- The Lions have won four of the last six meetings both SU and ATS with the total going OVER in three of the last five games between the two. Overall, BC is 26-9 ATS in the last 35 meetings.

Calgary has already recorded a couple of wild ones in that home-and-home series against the RedBlacks, but there has to be some concern with a defense that has allowed 70 points in two games. Bo Levi Mitchell is picking up where he left last season as one of the top quarterbacks in the CFL with 671 passing yards and five touchdown throws while completing 50 of his first 79 attempts.

The Blue Bombers needed double overtime to get past Saskatchewan in last week’s season opener after each team only managed to score three points each in the first overtime. Matt Nichols looked sharp at quarterback with 331 yards passing and four touchdown throws against one interception. Winnipeg’s Weston Dressler was on the receiving end of six catches for 124 yards and two of those scoring plays through the air.
Betting Trends

-- Overall, Calgary has won the last six meetings SU and it has a 4-1-1 edge ATS in its last six road games against the Blue Bombers. The total has gone OVER or ended as a PUSH in six of the last 10 meetings in Winnipeg.

When healthy, Rick Ray has always been one of the most prolific passers in the league, but even he probably did not envision a start that has led to 833 total passing yards in two games. Both DeVier Posey and Armanti Edwards each have more than 200 yards receiving in this fast start. His team went down in defeat last week following a big opening day upset at home against Hamilton and facing Ottawa in Week 3 should provide a good indication of where this team is headed.

The RedBlacks are still looking for their first win of the new season, but behind Trevor Harris at quarterback, you get the feeling they could still be the class of the East Division after last year’s run to the 2016 Grey Cup title. He is second on the list behind Ray with 725 total passing yards and five passing touchdowns while connecting on 75 percent of his 80 passing attempts.

Betting Trends

-- The road team has won three of the last five meetings both SU and ATS with the total staying UNDER in the last three games between these two East Division rivals.

Hamilton comes off a bye last week following that loss to Toronto in Week 1. A healthy Zach Collaros put the ball up 39 times in that game and he completed 26 passes for 242 yards and a score. The Tiger-Cats are going to have to do a much better job moving the ball on the ground against the Roughriders this week after running back CJ Gable and backup quarterback Jeremiah Masoli combined for just 16 yards on seven carries against the Argonauts.

It has been another rough start for Saskatchewan after posting just one SU win last season in its first 11 games. The one positive takeaway has been the play of Kevin Glenn as the team’s new starting quarterback. He has put the ball up a league-high 93 times while completing 72 percent of those throws for 675 yards and five scores. He has also been picked off a league-high three times.

Betting Trends

-- Hamilton has covered ATS in four of the last five meetings overall, but it falls to 5-16-1 ATS in its last 22 road games against Saskatchewan. The total has stayed UNDER in five of the last six games between the two.

Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

If you're scoring at home, so far it's been a day for the 'dogs in Canadian Football League action. Underdogs were also a perfect 4-0 ATS in Week 1, bringing the total so far this season 0-8 ATS so far for the favorites. Road teams have hit at a 6-2 ATS clip so far, a trend we saw often during the early going during the 2016 season. In fact, road teams started out 16-2-2 ATS through the first five weeks last season, and 29-9-2 ATS through the first 10 weeks until home teams finally covered in a majority of the games. That didn't occur until a five-week slate in Week 11 when home teams finally posted a 4-1 ATS mark.

As far as the total is concerned, the 'under has edged out the 'over' 5-3 through two weeks. Last season in Week 1 we saw a 2-2 split, followed by six consecutive weeks with the under dominating at 3-1, or 2-1-1 in Week 3. The under was 19-8-1 through the first seven weeks until a 2-2 split in Week 8, followed by the first over majority in Week 9 when the offenses finally started to take control.

Might we see a similar trend in Week 3 and beyond? We'll see. So far only the two Grey Cup participants from last season, Calgary (1-0-1) and Ottawa (0-1-1) look to be the dominant offenses again, while perhaps Winnipeg (1-0) and maybe BC Lions (1-1) look to have any semblance of consistency in the early going.

Team Betting Notes

-- The two Grey Cup combatants from last season played a second consecutive game, this time on the plains of Southern Alberta. It didn't end in a tie like last week's opener in Canada's capital city. However, it was a familiar result for the RedBlacks, who fell 43-39 in Calgary. Ottawa fell to 0-1-1 SU, although they're an impressive 2-0 ATS on the season. And really, they won the matchup that mattered in the Grey Cup last season.

-- The Stampeders are 3-0-2 SU in the past five regular season meetings with the RedBlacks. One thing that is certain, there will be a lot of points when the teams clash. The over is 6-0-1 in the past seven meetings, and 7-1-1 in nine all-time battles.

-- Toronto (1-1) is on deck for Ottawa, as they search for their first victory in a return home in Week 3. The Argos won as 3 1/2-point 'dogs in Week 1 against Hamilton (0-1), but it was BC coming in and spoiling the party by a 28-15 count with the Argos favored by two points at Rogers Centre on Friday. The 'under' has cashed in each of Toronto's games so far, but that will be put to the test in Week 3 against the high-scoring RedBlacks.

-- Winnipeg (1-0) kicked off its season after a bye in Week 1, and they won a thriller in Saskatchewan (0-2) by a 43-40 count in overtime. The Bombers fell behind 10-0 after the opening quarter, and a late flurry by the Riders forced OT. But Winnipeg capped it off in the extra session, and they might be an offense to monitor.

-- For the Roughriders, they're 0-2 SU, but they have lost by a total of four points through two games. They look much improved and they're averaging 28.0 PPG despite the two setbacks. Next up they will face a second straight opponent coming off a bye as the TiCats visit Regina.

-- As mentioned, the Lions went to Toronto and won. That erased a sour taste in their mouth following a 30-27 setback in the opener against the Eskimos. BC's defense was much better, allowing just 15 points to the Argos, and the 'under' has now hit in each of their two outings. They'll travel to Montreal (1-1) in Week 3, facing an Alouettes team which has also had the 'under' hit in their two contests.

-- The Eskimos are averaging 26.5 points per game so far, but it's their defense which has been the story in their two victories. The Esks are holding opponents to 23.0 points per game, including just 19 against the Alouettes. The 'under' has hit in each of their two outings.

Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

BRITISH COLUMBIA (1 - 1) at MONTREAL (1 - 1) - 7/6/2017, 7:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BRITISH COLUMBIA is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
BRITISH COLUMBIA is 3-1 against the spread versus MONTREAL over the last 3 seasons
BRITISH COLUMBIA is 3-1 straight up against MONTREAL over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

CALGARY (1 - 0 - 1) at WINNIPEG (1 - 0) - 7/7/2017, 8:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WINNIPEG is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.
WINNIPEG is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
WINNIPEG is 3-3 against the spread versus CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
CALGARY is 6-0 straight up against WINNIPEG over the last 3 seasons
4 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

Head-to-Head Series History
OTTAWA is 4-2 against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
OTTAWA is 3-3 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
3 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

HAMILTON (0 - 1) at SASKATCHEWAN (0 - 2) - 7/8/2017, 10:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SASKATCHEWAN is 2-10 ATS (-9.0 Units) as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
HAMILTON is 3-1 against the spread versus SASKATCHEWAN over the last 3 seasons
HAMILTON is 3-1 straight up against SASKATCHEWAN over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

BC Lions (1-1) @ Montreal (1-1)— Lions won last three series games, sweeping Alouettes 38-18/38-27 LY. BC won its last two visits to Montreal. Over is 7-2 in last nine series games played here. Lions won in Toronto LW after getting upset at home by Edmonton in opener; BC ran ball for 227 yards in first two games. Montreal split its first two games, which were decided by total of five points. Under is 2-0 for both teams this season. Under is 5-3 in CFL this year.

Calgary (1-0-1) @ Winnipeg (1-0)— Calgary is 15-1 in its last 16 games with Blue Bombers; they won last six series games (3-3 vs spread), sweeping Winnipeg by 14-15-2 points LY. Over is 2-0-1 in last three series games. Stampeders are 7-1 in last eight visits to Manitoba. Stamps just played couple of tight games with Ottawa to open season; they gave up 425 passing yards LW, but won 43-39. Winnipeg had Week 1 bye, then survived their opener 43-40 in OT in Regina LW.

Toronto (1-1) @ Ottawa (0-1-1)— Argonauts are 5-3 vs Ottawa; 3-0 when game goes over total, 2-3 when it does not. Argos split four games here- all three series games stayed under the total. Toronto split pair of home games to open season; they threw for 506 yards in opener, only 327 LW. RedBlacks went 0-1-1 in pair of games with Calgary to open season; both games were tied at half. Ottawa threw for 725 yards in the two games. Favorites are 1-7 in the CFL this year.

Hamilton (0-1) @ Saskatchewan (0-2)— TiCats won four of last five games with Saskatchewan; they crushed Riders 53-7 at home LY, then got upset 20-18 in rematch in Regina. Under is 7-2 in last nine series games. Hamilton had last week off; they lost opener 32-15 in Toronto, allowing 506 passing yards to Ricky Ray- they were outgunned 545-258. Roughriders lost first two games by total of four points; they forced OT LW, but lost 43-40 at home to Winnipeg.

Favorites vs spread for season: 1-7
over/under: 3-5

Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

7:30 PMBRITISH COLUMBIA vs. MONTREAL
British Columbia is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Montreal
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of British Columbia's last 7 games on the road
Montreal is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal's last 6 games

Friday, July 7

8:30 PMCALGARY vs. WINNIPEG
Calgary is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Winnipeg
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Calgary's last 5 games when playing Winnipeg
Winnipeg is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Winnipeg's last 6 games when playing at home against Calgary

Saturday, July 8

7:00 PMTORONTO vs. OTTAWA
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Toronto's last 14 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Toronto's last 7 games when playing on the road against Ottawa
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Ottawa's last 5 games at home
Ottawa is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Toronto

10:00 PMHAMILTON vs. SASKATCHEWAN
Hamilton is 5-18 SU in its last 23 games when playing Saskatchewan
Hamilton is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Saskatchewan's last 5 games when playing Hamilton
Saskatchewan is 18-5 SU in its last 23 games when playing Hamilton

Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

13) Lets see the analytics guys try to quantify this, because you can’t:

In Tuesday’s Milwaukee Brewer game, 3B Travis Shaw threw a ball to first base that wound up going into foul territory, and the runner advanced. Scorer ruled: E5, which ended a 52-game errorless streak for Shaw.

After the game, Brewers’ 1B Eric Thames called the official scorer and told him the error should be his; it was a good throw and he missed it. The error was changed to E3 and Shaw’s errorless streak extended to 53.

Not everyone would do that, but a selfless guy on an overachieving team did it, and there is no way you can quantify that and factor it into his WAR. Too bad, because it matters.

12) Cincinnati Reds’ OF Scott Schebler is a pretty good big leaguer; he is a .259 hitter in 180 major league games. Coming out of high school in Iowa, he had zero baseball scholarship offers, but he did have a couple to play football. Things have turned out pretty well for him.

11) 70 hot dogs (and buns) in 10 minutes. Oy.

I almost get nauseous just thinking about what it must feel like to eat 70 hot dogs in ten minutes. How long before you eat again? Do you just find a restroom and puke your guts out?

10) Orlando Magic waived big guy Stephen Zimmerman, who will be 21 in September and could be heading into his junior year at UNLV, had he gotten/taken intelligent advice. He wasn’t even a first round pick— he was the 41st player taken in the 2016 draft.

Instead, Zimmerman scored 23 points in 108 minutes of garbage time spread out over 19 NBA games, a classic case of a kid turning pro before he is ready. Now he’ll have to climb back to the NBA the hard way— it can still be done, but it ain’t gonna be easy.

He scored 13.4 pts/game in 21 D-League games last year. Now he is either headed back there or over to Europe, when he could still be in college and improving his game and getting a college education, in case this NBA thing never works out for him.

Zimmerman scored 10.5 pts/game for a sub-par UNLV squad in 2015-16; their coach got fired during the season, thats how cruddy the team played. But Zimmerman and his family were convinced he was an NBA star-in-waiting, so he bolted to the draft despite having a game that needed more maturity to be NBA-ready. He shot 62% from the line, both at UNLV and in the D-League last year- -shooting is one part of his game he needs to sharpen up.

9) Pretty cool to see Stan Van Gundy watching games at the Orlando Summer League while sitting next to his dad Bill, a coaching lifer who was a small college coach for years.

Flash back to November 1980, I’m a student manager at Albany- we’re in a tip-off tournament at Brockport State near Rochester, NY. Host Brockport plays Upsala in the first round; Brockport’s coach has a neck brace on from a car accident- Bill Van Gundy. Upsala is the #1 preseason team in the country, according to Sports Illustrated.

We sneak by RIT in the first game, Upsala beats Brockport, then we beat Upsala in the title game, beating the #1 team in the country. Basketball without a shot clock; our team ran its offense until Upsala got sick of defending it. It wasn’t pretty, but it damn sure worked.

Who knew that the guy with neck brace would wind up with two famous sons?

8) They had 15,664 fans in Albuquerque Tuesday night for baseball/fireworks, but the game lasted only 2:03, so the fans had to wait a while for the fireworks- the sun hadn’t set yet when the ballgame ended.

7) I’ve never understood why people like fireworks; seriously. They have a free fireworks show in downtown Albany every July 4, and it draws 50,000 people. I know its free, but I just don’t see what the big deal is. Thats what makes the world interesting; different people like different stuff.

6) RIP Gene Conley 86, who played on a World Series champ with the Milwaukee Braves and three NBA championship teams with the Celtics. Not many humans pitched to Willie Mays and also guarded Wilt Chamberlain. RIP, sir.

5) NBA doings:
— You may have heard; Boston gave Gordon Hayward $128M for four years.
— Golden State signed Omar Casspi for one year, $2.1M
— Sacramento signed Zach Randolph for two years, $24M
— Sacramento signed George Hill for three years, $57M.
— Mike Scott gets one year, $1.17M from Washington
— Clippers acquired Danilo Gallinari and gave him three years, $65M.
— Nick Young somehow gets $5.2M for one year from the Warriors.
— Andre Roberson gets $30M for three years from Oklahoma City.

4) Celtics have to trade at least one of these three players: Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley, to clear cap room for Hayward. Crowder might be the most marketable of the three, because his contract is very team-friendly.

3) Handicapping baseball is difficult; Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey allowed 14 runs in 4.2 IP in his first two starts this year- with start #3 at Coors Field, it didn’t look good for Bailey breaking his cold spell, but he did. Colorado won 8-1; Bailey put only eight men on base on six innings.

Go figure.

2) Former Louisville guard Russ Smith scored 61 pts/game in his first five games in a Chinese pro league- he had 81 in one game. Smith also owns the G-League scoring record: 65 points.

He has played in 27 NBA games for the Pelicans/Grizzlies, scoring 2.0 pts/game.

1) Marlins 9, Cardinals 6— Giancarlo Stanton homered in innings 1-2, his 22nd multi-homer game. Stanton is incredibly streaky, but when he gets hot, he is great fun to watch.

Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

BC has won back-to-back meetings in Quebec, including a 38-18 triumph last season, while averaging 33.6 points during its three-game winning streak against Montreal.

B.C. Lions at Montreal Alouettes (+2.5, 50)

The BC Lions look to continue their recent dominance of East Division opponents when they stay on the road to face the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday. The Lions scored the final 18 points en route to a 28-15 victory over the Toronto Argonauts in Week 2 to improve to 8-1 in their last nine games against East Division foes, and hope to stay on the winning track by beating the Alouettes for the fourth consecutive time.

BC has won back-to-back meetings in Quebec, including a 38-18 triumph last season, while averaging 33.6 points during its three-game winning streak against Montreal. The Alouettes let one slip away in the 23-19 defeat to the Edmonton Eskimos last week. Montreal failed to punch the ball into the end zone on multiple trips to the red zone, including a first-and-goal from the Edmonton 1-yard line in the third quarter, and hopes its sputtering offence, which is averaging 18 points, can find its top gear, as the Alouettes search for their first victory against BC since Aug. 20, 2015. "We have to be better as an offence," Montreal running back Tyrell Sutton told reporters. "We have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot and score points."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TSN, ESPNews
LINE HISTORY: The Lions opened as three-point road favorites and that number was bet down slightly to 2.5. The total hit the bettings boards at 48.5 and was bumped up to 50.
ABOUT THE LIONS (1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS, 0-2 O/U): Jeremiah Johnson continued his strong start to the season as the league leader in rushing yards (162) and touchdowns (two) gained 70 yards on the ground to go along with his game-clinching score against Toronto. Jonathon Jennings threw for 301 yards and a touchdown, with Bryan Burnham the main beneficiary of Jennings' big night as he caught nine passes for 118 yards despite playing with a sore leg. Rookie Ty Long made 3-of-3 field goal attempts, but struggled with his punting while deputizing for an injured Swayze Waters, who should be ready to go in Montreal after suffering a thigh injury in training camp.
ABOUT THE ALOUETTES (1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS, 0-2 O/U): Free agent signing Ryan Phillips, a defensive back who spent the previous 12 seasons with the Lions, left the game in the second quarter with an undisclosed injury and his status is unknown for Thursday. Darian Durant went 14-of-24 for 166 yards and a touchdown, but threw a costly interception in the fourth quarter, which led to Edmonton's go-ahead score. Veteran wide receiver Nik Lewis continues to perform at a high level as he caught five passes for 42 yards to move past Hall of Famer Ray Elgaard (13,198) into seventh place on the league's all-time receiving yards list.

BETTING TRENDS:

* Lions are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite of 0.5-3.0.
* Alouettes are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games as a home underdog of 0.5-3.0.
* Under is 6-1 in Lions last 7 games in Week 3.
* Under is 10-2 in Alouettes last 12 Thursday games.
* Lions are 26-9 ATS in their last 35 meetings.
CONSENSUS: The road chalk Lions are getting 65 percent of the action from users and the Under is picking up 53 percent of the totals wagers.

EXTRA POINTS:

* BC leads the CFL in rushing yards (227) and rushing touchdowns (three).
* Durant is averaging 199.5 passing yards per game, which is the lowest among CFL starting quarterbacks.
* Montreal has dropped seven of its last nine games against West Division opponents.